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Kid Nichols
Charles Augustus Nichols (September 14, 1869 – April 11, 1953), better known as Kid Nichols, was a Major League Baseball pitcher at the turn of the 20th century. Admired for his steadfast consistency year-in and year-out , Nichols won 361 games, the 7th highest total in major league history. Nichols is the youngest pitcher to win 300 games, reaching that milestone at the age of 32. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Nichols entered the major leagues in 1890 with the Boston Beaneaters and was an instant success. Nichols went 27-19 with a 2.23 ERA and 222 strikeouts and began a string of ten consecutive seasons with 20 wins or more. Nichols also had a major league record seven 30 win seasons in this time (1891 - 1894, 1896 - 1898) with a career high of 35 in 1892. He holds Boston Braves' records for 11 20-game seasons and 12 pitching years. His 11 20-victory seasons rank fifth behind only Cy Young 16, Christy Mathewson 13, Warren Spahn 13, and Walter Johnson 12. Nichols had his first losing season in 1900 when he went 13-16 but improved to 19-16 the following year. After the 1901 season, Nichols purchased an interest in a minor league franchise in Kansas City. He left the Beaneaters to manage and pitch for the Kansas City club, where he won a total of 48 games in 1902 and 1903. After a two year hiatus from the major leagues, Nichols returned to the 20 win plateau for the eleventh and final time in his career in 1904 for a new team, the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished his career in 1906 with the Philadelphia Phillies, who picked him up off waivers in 1905. Nichols retired with 361 wins, a total exceeded at the time only by Cy Young, 208 losses, 1,868 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA. He was a part of five National League pennant winners, all with the Boston Beaneaters (1891 - 1893, 1897, 1898). His 361 victories ranks 6th all-time, and his 5056 1/3 innings pitched ranks 11th all-time. His win total was exceeded only by [[Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Warren Spahn. After baseball, Nichols dabbled in the motion picture industry, partnering with Joe Tinker in running a business that distributed movies to theatres in the midwest, and opened bowling alleys in the Kansas City area. An accomplished bowler himself, Nichols won Kansas City's Class A bowling championship at age 64. Bill Ferber (2007) A Game of Baseball: The Orioles, The Beaneaters and The Battle For The 1897 Pennant, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 9780803211360, pg. 251 Nichols was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949, along with Mordecai Brown. Those 2 were the only candidates chosen by the Oldtimers Committee in the 1947-1952 period. See also * 300 win club * List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins * List of Major League Baseball saves champions * List of Major League Baseball wins champions * MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List *Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time * Major League Baseball titles leaders References External links * Baseball Hall of Fame biography * *The Deadball Era Category:1869 births Category:1953 deaths Category:Irish-American sportspeople Category:300 win club Category:Hall of Fame Category:Boston Beaneaters players Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:St. Louis Cardinals managers Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:National League wins champions Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Player-managers Category:19th-century baseball players Category:Major League Baseball players from Wisconsin Category:People from Madison, Wisconsin Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Kansas City Blues players Category:Pueblo Indians players Category:Starting Pitchers Category:Players